Alex is exploring ways to assist with community clean-up. Which stage of the problem-solving process is he in?

In the context of the problem-solving process, if Alex is exploring ways to assist with community clean-up, he is engaging in the stage of solution generation. This phase involves brainstorming, discussing, and developing potential solutions or approaches to address the identified problem—in this case, community cleanliness.

During solution generation, individuals think creatively about different methods and strategies they can implement to solve the problem at hand. This is a proactive step that follows the initial identification and defining of the problem.

The other stages encompass different aspects of problem-solving: defining the problem is about understanding the issue at hand, action planning involves outlining the steps necessary to implement one of the generated solutions, and evaluating solutions is after the fact—where one assesses the effectiveness of the chosen solutions. By focusing on generating creative ideas and solutions, Alex is clearly in the solution generation stage.